Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1887-03-26
LOVER.

MlNNEI1AHAs - LU fIlG.
The young couples who stroll
down through the lane back OF
Governor Gilmer's old residence,
through the stretch of oak and pine,
TO where the. huge shaking rock
balances itself on the enormous
bowlder,do not know that a legend
lis connected with the great rock
and the little stream which winds
it's way at the bottom of the slope
and out into the valley below, until
it finds it's home in the creek be
yond.
1t has been many and many a
year ago; long before Oglethorpe
county was settled. Where Meson
academy stands was an endless
stretch Of forest, and in the meadow
below the dun deer fed and laved
their thirst in the stream flowing
through it. The tall grass grew in
its native luxuriance; the oak and
pine bowed their heads to the
whispering west wind; upon their
branches the turtle doves cooed
and mated, and the lovely violets
and johnny jump ups blushed and
bloomed, with their tender petals
untouched and unbroken by the
tread of the white man. The bands
of Cherokees held undisputed reign
within the boundless forests, planted
their wigwams in the valleys and
meadows under the whispering
trees and by the side ofthe streams
which murmurel lowly to the black,
birds singing on the bending
rushes.
In this olden time, the legend
goes, a tribe Of Cherokees wendell
their way hither and pitched their
tents on the banks Of the laughing
water. The warrior braves hunted
the mild eyed deer in the forests,
and the twang Of the bow string
married the softness of the turtle
doves love song. The squaws
tended their patches of corn and
maize, and the Indian village
thrived and prospered.. The moons
waned.and fullcd, and wane9 again,
Im5p and pnpdtug gaa lis s5iIfsfiirEed
upward and the pipe of peace was
smoked again and again within the
wigwam of the Cherokee braves
In. their unfettered happiness the
dusky maidens passed away the
hours of the day, and the pleasures
of the hunt were enhanced by the
pleasuresIof the corn dance. The
sun smiled down in peace upon the
happy village, and the west wind
mildly kissed the dusky cheeks of
the men, the wives and the maid
ems.
Among the bravest of the braves
whose tents made up the Indian
village was Tohoho. He was as
1.-the as hickory, as straight as an
arrow. strong as the oak and fear
less as the lion. In the peaceful
chase, or when the war cry rang
ont, lie was foremost Of all the
braves. Stern, implacable, a ma
lures hero in natures home.
The wigwam OF Tohoho was made
bright by the laughing eyes and
the lovely form OF his daughter--a
maiden who was the one idol of the
stern warriors heart and the pride
and pet Of the Indian village. Min
nehaha he had named her, and
"laughing water" suited her every
movement. She was slender us the
elder, willowy in form and with a
wealth of the blackesr hair. Her
eyes shone like the stars in the
sky. and her teeth glistened as pol
;shed ivory. She was the gayest
and most modest Of allthe maidens
in the Cherokee village,and moved
in the wigwam Of the stern Toho-
no as queen.
Many were the Indian braves
whose hearts had been made cap
tive by the bright eyes and bright
er ways of the lovely Minnehaha,
but to none of her suitors had she
given the slightest sign of encour-
agement. Returning from the chase,
they brought her the rarest tro-
phies of theifU skill, but she smiled
and put them aside. Necklaces of
richest hues and all the love tokens
of the Indian days we're laid at her
feet, but she spurned them all with
gentleness but decision.
Her indifference to these over
lures of love from the young braves
was gratifying to Tohoho, for he
loved his beautiful daughter so
deeply that he did not care to give
her up. He thought Of how lonely
would be the wigwam if, when re
turning from the hunt, tie bright
eyes of Minnehaha did not greet
him at the threshold and her voice
did not welcome him back.
The legend goes that thus mat
ters stood for many, many moons,
Despite all tile efforts made to win
her affections, the maiden remained
as free as the winds Of heaven.
But one day the braves went out
to hunt in the folests many miles
away from the wigwam Of Tohoho
While upon this hunt they came
upon small party of white MEL
who were prospecting through the
forest. An encounter occurred be